This is precisely what the GOP really needs in order to remain viable in the future. Lets hope that these three young, gay republicans are successful in their quest for Congress. Hopefully this will lead to a moderate and progressive takeover of the national GOP along with a permanent eviction of the tea partiers and the NARROW MINDED BIBLE THUMPING SCREWBALLS.

No kidding, eh? I hate it when some minority rump takes over a main stream party, regardless of it's political stand. I used to cringe at the bad press the extreme Left wingers gave to parties like the NDP in Canada and Labour in the UK. They just sour the brand for most of us in the centre and usually force people to support someone else that they would normally support, or skip voting (which is even less palatable).

Interesting indeed.. perhaps the election of some of those candidates will encourage a reflection of the some of the republican members, but I sort of doubt it. I've always said, my vote is based on far more than just a "gay or straight" question, but I have to say, I'd like to hear why these guys are republicans. Their answers may be the same as mine above... political affiliation more than just a question of whether they are gay.

Demographics of the "gay vote" just aren't there yet, at least not to the significance of minority or female. Besides, I almost thing the right wing of the GOP would prefer liberal Dems in the NE to moderate GOP, at least in Congress. Liberal Dems provide a fundraising foil. Moderate, especially gay, Rep means more of a loose cannon in their caucus.

There are three constituencies in the Republican party, according to "experts". The social conservatives (who are literally dying because they are old), moderates (who are disappearing from politics because they can't get enough votes), and anti-government types (who are led by the tea party). The second two groups do not generally oppose marriage equality. It's only a matter of time before the opponents of equality disappear or change their minds. The only thing that saddens me is that after the Republicans support marriage, they will be more popular than ever.

Successful political parties re-invent themselves when necessary. Just look at Tony Blair in the UK. He ditched the Leftist rhetoric coming from the extremists in his party and led the party to victory.

Similarly, Canada's Conservative Prime Minister clamped down on politically incorrect comments on the social front coming from his right wing because that kind of thing sank his first real chance at becoming PM.

Time is on the side of gay rights; the older, socially-conservative folks are simply dying off and younger folks, usually with more education, are more open to new ideas.

Nivek saidThe only thing that saddens me is that after the Republicans support marriage, they will be more popular than ever.

You know, not necessarily. When that happens it will be an overall more moderate Republican party. That's not a bad thing. I say that as a moderate Dem.

I dunno. I have always wondered how many gay people would be Republican if gay civil rights wasn't such a divider. Maybe you wouldn't have gays who are full-blown Republicans, but I think, given a tempered Republican party, one could make a case for many gays adhering to several aspects of fiscal conservatism. Well, no way to no for sure (at least, not now).

But you are 4Will, support of gay marriage alone doesn't make the GOP popular. They have a government shutdown that backfired, a racial disconnect for numerous reasons (the Voting Rights Act being a major one), and a disconnect with women for numerous reasons (abortion reform). And it's not just that Republicans are moving on this issues, but their reasons for wanting this types of reforms are infuriating and alienating.

Feel free to disagree, but from where I sit it is hard to see how the GOP comes out ahead despite nominating a "token" candidate and with two Democratic terms that had more "oops" and "uh-oh's" than I really care/want to remember. But I also swore Lil Bill wouldn't serve a second term so...

Most Republicans do not care what consenting adults do in their bedroom, as long as it affects no one else.

Most Republicans don't want to know what people's sexual orientation is, as long as it affects no one else.

That's never good enough for the radical gay Left.

To them "anti-gay" describes anyone who opposes revising social institutions to celebrate gay sex.

To them, I'm "anti-gay" because as a veteran and a conservative, I oppose openly gay behavior in the military and un-defining marriage.

The Republican Party badly needs to reinvent itself, probably every 25 years. Under RINO chumps like Boehner and McConnell, the Republican Party serves no purpose and has no meaning.

The only meaningful purpose of the Republican Party is to provide a clear, Constitutional, limited-government alternative to the limitless government offered by the Democrat Party, i.e., Statism, which inevitably destroys freedom and prosperity.

The only hope for reforming the Republican Party is the Tea Party.

The Republican Party will never attract the votes of special-interest groups who are focused on having dinner at the Captain's table...on the Titanic.

I also predict the next Republican Presidential nominee will NOT be some overbearing Italian-American from the North-East but a Latino from the Southern half of the States.

George P. Bush? And as the following pictures illustrate, you can't get as Latino as this guy can...

He's a shoe in for Texas Land Commissioner, and yet has fundraised significant amounts of money to a political position he doesn't need to fundraise or campaign in. He's also the grandson and nephew of two former presidents...

I also predict the next Republican Presidential nominee will NOT be some overbearing Italian-American from the North-East but a Latino from the Southern half of the States.

George P. Bush? And as the following pictures illustrate, you can't get as Latino as this guy can...

He's a shoe in for Texas Land Commissioner, and yet has fundraised significant amounts of money to a political position he doesn't need to fundraise or campaign in. He's also the grandson and nephew of two former presidents...

A gay Repub supports the Repub party - and the Repub party specifically supports keeping gay Americans second class citizens who don't have the same equal rights that other Americans enjoy.

It's right there in the official Repub party platform.

Therefore a gay Repub is a major hypocrite.

Plus the Repub party has a godawful record at handling the economy.

EVERY Repub president for more than 100 years has had at least one recession hit while he was president - while 4 of the last 5 Democratic presidents had zero recessions hit on their watch.Reagan TRIPLED the National Debt and Bush Jr. doubled it.And no Repub president has balanced a budget or reduced the deficit since Eisenhower in the 1950's.

Even if you ignore the gay rights issue - who the fuck would vote for more Repub: recessions, job losses, and reckless debt creation?

roadbikeRob saidThat's all we need another right wing Texan to occupy the White House

Can't we do any better than someone named Clinton or Bush? There's over 300 million people in this country!

Heres the problem, unless you have tons of money and name recognition along with countless endorsements, you don't stand a chance in politics especially to a higher office. Its sad but unfortunately true. This past year we had a mayoral election in Buffalo. It was stacked totally in favor of the incumbent Byron "all appearences, no substance" Brown with all the endorsements and huge wads of campaign cash plus he has been mayor for eight years so name recognition was not an issue. The democratic challenger and the republican challenger were both largely unknown and underfunded. The republican challenger was also Hispanic but the Hispanic community in Buffalo is very dispersed throughout the region. Both were trounced in both the primaries and the general election but only a tiny percentage of registered voters in Buffalo voted in this election. Because of voter apathy and money in elections, we are stuck with four more years of all appearences, no substance in the mayors chair in Buffalo City Hall